Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

There’s no plan, there are no dates, the courts won’t touch it (Federal court are you kidding me?), domestically the states will continue to overreact and the federal government is solely focussed on when to hold the election to best suit their chances.

There will be no risk taken to jeopardise this last point - period - and the people who keep on bleating on about other fluff to hide their complete comfort with the international borders being closed are unfortunately the majority.
 
MEL_Traveller said:
Agree there's no date. But I think this is going to be an ongoing campaign. The first hurdle is getting the vaccine program up and running. The next is trying to get as many people as we can vaccinated... and there's a vocal sector against vaccination. The rally outside the Fed minister's office was calling it 'poison', and 'punishment' if people do not get the vaccine.

The PM is beginning the conversation about a change in risk. And saying that is likely by the end of the year. Importantly, looking at the Biosecurity Act, the question is how much longer can it be invoked once the population is vaccinated? I don't know if an exact date could be reasonably given as of today.
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But you said they have outlined their plan? Where is this? You are looking at potentially 8 months before everyone is vaccinated, do you not think a plan should be formulated by now? Put a plan in place, show businesses that there is a plan being worked on - because at the moment it just seems like there is no end in sight. I never said give us a date, but we need details of how we are getting out of this.

You keep saying the government has said this and that. And they have said remotely of note. In fact, the only thing of note regarding any dates is that forget any international travel this year, which has been said by Brendan Murphy a couple of times. Scomo has said that travel "is very possible" when there is widespread vaccinations, but at the same time he also said "But I've never got ahead of myself on this".

It's crystal clear to every man and his dog that travel is possible after widespread vaccination, or else what is the point? So what is the plan now that we have begun vaccinating people?

 
Toula92122 said:
Saw an article in Daily Fail today, of the 30k returning to Oz in December 11k were visitors. So much for locked borders. I haven't seen anything that constitutes a plan. It seems to be more of a general vibe with ever changing fluff as to what is the plan for reopening.

Agree with @dajop drivers licence is not indicative of actual state of residence for expats. We both hold NT DLs but have not lived there for a long time and only lived there briefly and had no intention of returning there but I guess for all intents and purposes would be counted as NT residents.
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Yes evidently many just returned home for Xmas visits.

Now while family bonds and contact is important, it does reinforce that there is no real prioritisation amongst "Australians" coming in to Australia of actual genuine need vs wants.

Currently it seems to be more driven by an individual's ability (ie can pay for business class) or luck (ie the repatriation flights where seats are randomly sold) in getting a flight and entry into Australia.

Should those seeking to "permanently" return be given priority over those returning for a brief "holiday/family" visit? Note though that some short visits may be to farewell die-ing relatives, or other urgent purposes etc.
 
MEL_Traveller said:
Agree there's no date. But I think this is going to be an ongoing campaign. The first hurdle is getting the vaccine program up and running. The next is trying to get as many people as we can vaccinated... and there's a vocal sector against vaccination. The rally outside the Fed minister's office was calling it 'poison', and 'punishment' if people do not get the vaccine.

The PM is beginning the conversation about a change in risk. And saying that is likely by the end of the year. Importantly, looking at the Biosecurity Act, the question is how much longer can it be invoked once the population is vaccinated? I don't know if an exact date could be reasonably given as of today.



CMOs may have said that, but they don't trump the Federal Court.
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The vaccine program is already up and running, albeit at limited capacity. In regards to how many people are being vaccinated, I saw the other day that about 66% of those being offered are taking it up in the UK. I personally know some people who won't take it at all, or are waiting to take it "when it's clear travel will be allowed". Selfish, if you ask me, but of course you have to respect everyone's viewpoint.
lovetravellingoz said:
Yes evidently many just returned home for Xmas visits.

Now while family bonds and contact is important, it does reinforce that there is no real prioritisation amongst "Australians" coming in to Australia of actual genuine need vs wants.

Currently it seems to be more driven by an individual's ability (ie can pay for business class) or luck (ie the repatriation flights where seats are randomly sold) in getting a flight and entry into Australia.

Should those seeking to "permanently" return be given priority over those returning for a brief "holiday/family" visit? Note though that some short visits may be to farewell die-ing relatives, or other urgent purposes etc.
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As with anything, money always talks..... if you pay, you get what you want (most of the time), if not, join the line......
 
Flashback said:
.

As with anything, money always talks..... if you pay, you get what you want (most of the time), if not, join the line......
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Yes I fully understand the money talks reference.

But as for "join the line"...what line, as it unfortunately just seems to be a mad scum. If there was an actual virtual line it would be much better. Or rather virtual lines as no doubt there should be some categories based on needs.


And there were these "virtual" lines then money talk would be les of an issue. At present it would seem that how the airlines control ticketing (ie business/economy class ratios) has more influence over who enters Australia from the designated weekly arrival quota than what the Federal Government does. At over a year in now is this really acceptable given the scarcity of weekly arrivals?

Now yes the current system is easier for the Federal Government, but is it really appropriate to essentially mainly leave it to the forces of supply and demand to manage who gets in when.
 
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lovetravellingoz said:
Yes I fully understand the money talks reference.

But as for "join the line"...what line, it unfortunately just seems to be a mad scum. If there was an actual virtual line it would be much better. Or rather virtual lines as no doubt there should be some categories based on needs.


And there were these "virtual" lines then money talk would be les of an issue. At present it would seem that how the airlines control ticketing (ie business/economy class ratios) has more influence over who enters Australia from the designated weekly arrival quota than what the Federal Government does. At over a year in now is this really acceptable given the scarcity of weekly arrivals?

Now yes the current system is easier for the Federal Government, but is it really appropriate to essentially mainly leave it to the forces of supply and demand to manage who gets in when.
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I think that's OK, personally. If someone is really desperate to "come home" then they will find the money, it's still cheaper than the alternative of finding additional accommodation where they are, etc. Let's be honest, some of those that can't meet that.... are also the ones who probably couldn't have met a last minute economy flight at the drop of a hat either. I know of a few people who are flying in/out of Australia no problem and they're not paying exorbitant fares..... Even with a bit of forward planning you can get reasonably priced fares. YMMV, of course.
 
Even with everything approved so much extra time to plan and schedule everything like they said they were doing, for the first week to have under 12,000 done is pathetic

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By October boosters and multivalent vaccines will be either in production or well and truly in the pipeline.

What would make anyone believe that the Australian government would take any risks before waiting for those to become available?
 
hb13 said:
But you said they have outlined their plan? Where is this? You are looking at potentially 8 months before everyone is vaccinated, do you not think a plan should be formulated by now? Put a plan in place, show businesses that there is a plan being worked on - because at the moment it just seems like there is no end in sight. I never said give us a date, but we need details of how we are getting out of this.

You keep saying the government has said this and that. And they have said remotely of note. In fact, the only thing of note regarding any dates is that forget any international travel this year, which has been said by Brendan Murphy a couple of times. Scomo has said that travel "is very possible" when there is widespread vaccinations, but at the same time he also said "But I've never got ahead of myself on this".

It's crystal clear to every man and his dog that travel is possible after widespread vaccination, or else what is the point? So what is the plan now that we have begun vaccinating people?
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I agree it is 8 months away, but for me at least that seems reasonably close given the timelines. The PM can't commit to a specific date. Nor can he really say at this stage that everyone can travel once we're vaccinated, because we don't know about new strains. I think it will become clearer over the next few months as we see data from Australia and overseas. That seems reasonable, to me. The PM has been muck more flexible in his approach than Professor Murphy who wants to see a vaccine stop transmission.

lovetravellingoz said:
Yes evidently many just returned home for Xmas visits.

Now while family bonds and contact is important, it does reinforce that there is no real prioritisation amongst "Australians" coming in to Australia of actual genuine need vs wants.

Currently it seems to be more driven by an individual's ability (ie can pay for business class) or luck (ie the repatriation flights where seats are randomly sold) in getting a flight and entry into Australia.

Should those seeking to "permanently" return be given priority over those returning for a brief "holiday/family" visit? Note though that some short visits may be to farewell die-ing relatives, or other urgent purposes etc.
Click to expand...

There are those coming home to visit, and also non-residents coming in and out. This is part of the broader issue on exemptions, and whether it really is intended for non-residents to travel freely to conduct business or leisure. The current requirement to maintain PR is 2 years in Australia out of 5. If someone is really PR, should they actually be 'non-resident' as well?
 
MEL_Traveller said:
I agree it is 8 months away, but for me at least that seems reasonably close given the timelines. The PM can't commit to a specific date. Nor can he really say at this stage that everyone can travel once we're vaccinated, because we don't know about new strains. I think it will become clearer over the next few months as we see data from Australia and overseas. That seems reasonable, to me. The PM has been muck more flexible in his approach than Professor Murphy who wants to see a vaccine stop transmission.
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Sorry but what has been said so far does not qualify as a plan, it's nothing more than waffle. I can throw out a plan that has all the depth of what the government has managed at the moment. Given the circumstances I agree, can't necessarily attach dates, however there should be markers that give hope that once achieved life returns to normal. Based on what I've observed this seems to be the plan.

1. Vaccinate leisurely to ensure everyone is confined to Australian shores so no spending of funds overseas to prop up local interests and hide the true state of the economy. I'm sure Gerry Norman is really happy that people have plenty of money to spend.
2. Keep telling the mindless masses only we can keep you safe and must keep those borders closed and lets build some quarantine facilities to enable some of our biggest donors to benefit at the expense of the tax payer.
3. Hold an election based on our never ending subsidies and keeping you all safe.
4. Keep telling the general population nothing, let them lose hope so they can be easily controlled.
5. Keep treating people like children incapable of making basic decisions for themselves while we don't bother to fix bringing Australians home or plug quarantine issues.
 
Seat0B said:
I know I’m not alone, but it is getting harder the longer it goes on with no clear timeframe. Plus I am so so so over the people who just want to close our international border forever.
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I've probably never been more disappointed in any government than over the stance on international borders, but as a citizen it's something that I have to accept even though it leaves a very bitter taste.
 
Flashback said:
Wastage due to anti vaxxers, poor handling, or poor management?
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I’m only referring to the two reported examples/instances

First day a now admitted untrained doctor put a whole 5-6 dose vial each into 2 patients - so say 10 doses wasted

The second wastage was someone sending too many vials (reported 25 vials extra) to an aged care center that didn’t have properly refrigeration monitoring. - say 150 wasted.
 
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